Embryonic neutrophils show adult-like immune defense functions in mice, study finds
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A University of Turku team reports in Nature Communications that large populations of neutrophils are present in several developing embryonic tissues in mice. In experiments, these embryonic neutrophils performed immune functions similar to those of adult neutrophils: phagocytosis of particles, production of reactive oxygen species, and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps. The findings suggest the embryo is not immunologically naive but already carries cells capable of adult-like defense before birth. The work is based on mouse embryos, so whether the same holds in human development has not been shown here.
Written by a model from the reports · updated 3 hours ago
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- Medical XpressPickEmbryos harbor immune cells that already perform adult-like defense functions, study suggests
A University of Turku research team publishing in Nature Communications found large populations of neutrophils in several developing embryonic tissues in mice, and showed that they can perform immune functions similar to adult neutrophils, including phagocytosing particles, producing reactive oxygen species, and forming neutrophil extracellular traps.
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